Low-fire ceramics firing technique where the flames create unpredictable coloring and patterning on the clay body by reacting with both the clay and its glaze; completed by either dipping the still-hot pieces into water (does not break because the clay usually contains high amounts of
grog and has a
high-fire clay body), or "
reducing" the pieces with smoke to create an unpredictable blackening of the body.
Technically speaking, what is often referred to as
Raku is actually a technique called
American flash firing, a technique pioneered by
Paul Soldner in the 60's.
Real Raku is any earthenware produced by the
Raku family in Japan.